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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was pointless to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

Yet, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."